SlashGear loves reviewers that tell it like it is – whether that be waxing lyrical about the latest must-have product to steal their heart, or heaping scorn onto flawed and fail-worthy rubbish. So it’s good to see Jenn over at pocketables pulling exactly zero punches in her review of the Vega UMPC, Raon Digital’s WinXP-running handheld PC with a 4.3-inch passive touchscreen.

Despite lacking internal WiFi or Bluetooth, the Vega has managed to score pretty well in past reviews, so if there’s any overall lesson to be learnt here it’s that the success of any mobile device is vastly dependent on the needs and lifestyle of the individual using it. Jenn criticises the no-longer-competitive price ($879 from Dynamism, in her case), sub-par text-entry methods, unattractive design and poor performance as an impromptu laptop-replacement.

People have been putting computers into their cars for years now, and manufacturers are playing (slow) catch-up themselves, but for the DIYer it’s generally been a tricky bout of origami fitting all the screens, boxes and cables in for a neat install. Well, Microsoft -perhaps unwittingly – made things a whole lot easier with, ironically, their Origami concept (later to become UMPC, the butt of many myopic reviewers’ scorn); a full computer with a seven inch touchscreen that manufacturers are often offering with an in-car mount. All of a sudden it’s ridiculously easy to put a PC in your car, and then the struggle becomes picking the right hardware and interface software for your needs. Enter Steve over at The Carrypad UMPC Journal.

Steve is currently trying out how well the Raon Digital Vega UMPC works in his daily ride, and has posted the first of a series of three articles designed to help budding carputerists find the best system for them. Well worth keeping an eye on if you’ve ever thought “it’d be really useful to have GPS/my music collection/internet connection right now”.

So we’ve had the unboxing, now comes the nitty-gritty. The good folks over at the Carrypad UMPC Portal have done a full-on review of the Raon Digital Vega UMPC, and found that – while the lack of built-in bluetooth or wifi is a chore – it’s a great addition to a mobile lifestyle. Of particular note is their section on using the Vega as an in-car entertainment and navigation tool.

Hurry, click, click the video below to watch Hugo Ortega (misguided yet very lucky dude) the man of the hour just got the shiny, new Vega UMPC by Raon Digital. Instead of ripping the box apart, he waited to capture the unboxing experience for the rest of world to lust over. Thanks Hugo – a job well done. Also big thanks to everyone that sent this into SlashGear. Click over for the video (183MB, 25 minutes)!

Korean company Raon Digital listed their one and only product – the Vega UMPC on their website. I know we’ve covered this device on SlashGear, but the follow-up with more info and images will help give you a better view of the product. It’s a shame it doesn’t have an integrated keyboard of some sort.
View the entire product specs after the jump.

The glitz, the glamour, drunkenly ringing your step-mom at 3am to tell her you’ve married a transgendered hooker called Analise… it’s the high-tack spirit of Las Vegas that Raon Digital has summoned to perfectly gloss the latest on the “is that a PC in your pocket?” catwalk. Flaunting the same 800×480 resolution of its UMPC brethren, only squeezed into a UX50-alike 4.5 inch screen, this “Ultra Portable PC” appears to have pitched its tent firmly in the multimedia/gaming camp. Noble aims, but given reviewers’ general lack of excitement when hands-on with the first generation of UMPCs, you’d be forgiven for harbouring step-mom-like suspicions that the relationship between gamer and Vega won’t last.

Variety is the spice of life, they say, and unless they’re talking about the drivel that was my high-school Variety Performance I think they’re right. So it’s with baited breath I wait for new models of UMPC, in the hope that one day some clever manufacturer will manage the delicate balance between Alienware performance and Electrovaya battery life.